


Apparently, I'm the bad guy.

by Jennasis



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxious Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Badass Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Comedy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gen, Humor, Kwami Swap, No one is surprised, ah yes place your faith into this stranger youve never heard of before, but for now i enjoy watching you squirm, enemies au, how did i forget that one, i know that looks sus as hell but trust me, i think it's kinda funny, idk how to do tags so bare with me, ill add more if i think of any, is cursing a tag? i hope it isnt a tag, no beta we die like uh people when they are old, that's a tag??? not complaining, that's ironic aint it, the E2L comes in later but dont let that scare you off, they say humor is subjective, yeah this is my first work ever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 20:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30027354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennasis/pseuds/Jennasis
Summary: Kwami Swap AU that is also an Enemies To Lovers AU because there's not enough of it.-Marinette continued to stare at it. It was a talking cat thing, apparently called a kwami? But she felt inclined to trust it. Sure, it’s a little weird, and it could be an alien who escaped some government laboratory, but it was better than sitting behind and doing nothing.’All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing!’ Alya had said.She put on the ring that was laying on the floor, and Plagg grinned.“Claws out.”-
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Apparently, I'm the bad guy.

**Author's Note:**

> for starters, yes, this is my first work ever. please be nice. also this is oh-so very incomplete so if you get mad that i'm lying in the tags, don't worry there's more. here's some things to note about this fanfic
> 
> \- kwami swap will probably just be for the main peeps, everyone else will be the same probably  
> \- i'm using "Red Beetle" instead of "Mister Bug" bc i think it's a dumb name  
> \- you'll have to read for mari's name ;)  
> \- yes they will be enemies because i am a sucker for that trope  
> \- mari is a lot more anxious than she is in the show, but that'll get better  
> \- i think that's it but if there's more ill lyk
> 
> comments will fuel me to continue this so if you like what you see, please tell me. im like a cat, i require attention but will try to kill you if you do or do not give it to me.
> 
> also if it doesnt make any sense you *could* tell me but i probably wont fix it unless i feel like it lol
> 
> anyway, enjoy this monstrosity of a piece.

Today, in light terms, was going to shit.

Marinette, who woke up later than she had planned, was going to be late for the first day of school. She set around 6 alarms the night before, and none of them roused her from her slumber, and only her mother’s call was enough to make her realize that she was going to be late. Luckily for Marinette, her mother had left out some fruits and cereal for her to eat as breakfast, but then _that_ was ruined because of an orange. _An orange_!

“Don’t cry over spilled milk,” Sabine chuckled, already wiping up some of the mess Marinette had indirectly created, “Today will be a good day as long as you keep your head held high and make it so!” It was comforting at the time, Marinette thought with a grimace, that her mother gave her some solid advice.

Then, Marinette decided to talk to her father for the macaroons she requested the night before, and luckily, he had them prepared for her just before she had to go. This was good, obviously because they’d be warm by the time she arrived at school to hand out said treats.

But then she almost gets hit by a car, who probably cursed “watch where you’re going” at her _while_ he was turning, the bastard. But Marinette refused to let that ruin her potentially great day!

Then an old man was walking across the street, nobody even bothering to notice because they were all on their _phones._ Of course, a car was approaching too, and Marinette vaguely thought _‘why does it always have to be me’_ as she grabbed the man’s arm and sprinted to the other side of the narrow road, and subsequently faceplanted onto the floor.

“Thank you, _mademoiselle_!” The man smiled as she tried to stand up again, but his smile fell when he saw the macaroons on the sidewalk, “Oh, what a disaster…” And then the same people that were on their phones just _stepped_ on them without even noticing! How do you step on something so sweet and squishy and not even think twice to see what it is you stepped on!

But Marinette was less mad and more resigned, “I’m no stranger to disaster, don’t worry. Besides, there are still a few left!” She smiled. Only a couple macaroons were slaughtered, 3 or 4, not too much of a problem. But still, a little tedious.

The man took a few and hummed in delight. “These are delicious!” He reached out to eat another, and Marinette wasn’t surprised. They were addictive.

Then the school bell let out a ring, and Marinette yelped, “I’m going to be late on the first day back! Have a nice day, _Monsieur!_ ” And she ran across the street to the school.

She didn’t catch the scheming grin the old man had plastered on his face. Why would she?

Of course, when she entered the classroom, she saw _her_ , and everything suddenly got thousands of times worse. “Here we go again…”

Chloe Bourgeois: daughter of the mayor of Paris, also known as, Marinette’s worst nightmare. They had been in the same class for nearly 5 years, and Chloe ruined every single one of them. You’d never expect that there could possibly be a “Regina George” in any school setting, but Chloe? Yeah, she was _that bitch._ Loaded with makeup and harsh insults that used to cut into Marinette’s skin, but now Marinette saw it all as face paint and butter knives. “That’s my seat,” Chloe said, clearly agitated.

“Chloe, this has always been my seat.” Marinette sighed, keeping both of her palms on the desk.

“Not anymore,” Sabrina, who was Chloe’s apparent best friend, “New school, new year, new seats!” She argued, and Marinette struggled to stay seated and not give them both exactly what they deserve.

“So why don’t you just go and sit beside that new girl over there?” Chloe pointed at another girl with red hair. “Listen, Adrien’s arriving today. And since that’s going to be _his_ seat,” she gestured to where Marinette was currently sitting, “this is going to _my_ seat. Got it?”

Marinette frowned, “Adrien?”

For some reason, that cause both Chloe and Sabrina to laugh. Marinette knew by default that they weren’t laughing because she said something genuinely funny.

“Can you believe she doesn’t know who _Adrien_ is? What rock have you been living under? That why your fashion sense is akin to a caveman’s?” They let out another laugh.

“He’s only a famous model,” Sabrina rolled her eyes.

“And I,” Chloe gestured to herself flauntingly, “am his best friend.” Sabrina frowned a little at that, but Chloe could barely find it in herself to care. “He adores me! Now, go on. Shoo.”

Marinette just scowled. The _audacity_ Chloe had was more tedious than anything, but it was more embarrassing that Chloe thought Marinette cared that much about who this ‘best friend’ was. She felt bad for Adrien more than anything, _‘your best friend is this bitch?’_ she sighed to herself.

She hadn’t even noticed the red head getting up front her seat. “Hey, who elected _you_ queen of seats?”

“Ooh, look Sabrina! We have a do-gooder in our class this year! What are you gonna do, super-newbie? Shoot beams at me with your glasses?” Chloe mocked. Marinette was disappointed Chloe would stoop so low to make a “four eyes” insult, but Marinette also _didn’t care_.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The girl scowled and pulled Marinette up from her seat. “Come on,” and even though Marinette knew she was trying to be helpful, Marinette knew that things wouldn’t go right for _some_ reason. It has been about 10 minutes since-

She tripped.

Figures. “Sorry…” she sighed and slid into her seat.

Class went on as expected, Mme. Bustier asked if everyone took their seats and started the lesson, which was apparently the moment the red head thought it’d be a good time to start up a conversation.

“It’s really no problem, girl.” She grinned, “You don’t sound like someone that wants to be beaten up over Chloe.”

“How do you do it…?” Marinette asked quietly. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with this red head, she could be Satan incarnate for all she knew, but she couldn’t really help herself… “How did you stand up to Chloe like that?”

“’All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing!’ and I live by that! I can already tell that Chloe is evil just from the way she talked to you, and seeing nobody do anything was kind of pathetic, so I stepped in.” The girl grinned, “You can’t let her keep walking over you like that, uh…” She paused, asking the silent question.

Marinette smiled, collecting her thoughts and handing the red head the box of macaroons, or one now, she supposed. “Marinette.”

“Alya.” She said with the same fervor.

Today might not be all that bad.

* * *

Have you ever painted a portrait of someone, maybe your mother or father, but then you accidentally spray all the paint onto the portrait? And when you try to undo the mistake, you then realize there’s no undo button on the top of the canvas?

Well, Marinette wanted to undo her entire life right now.

Okay, here’s what happened: Ivan, a kind of scary person if you don’t know him personally but is actually a sweet teddy bear that would never hurt a fly, got sent to the principal’s office for wanting to beat the shit out of Kim, and although Marinette had no idea what happened _afterwards_ , that hardly mattered in the end, because there was a _giant living and breathing rock outside of her school._

For some reason, Marinette’s new best friend believed this was a new super villain and decided to go record it…? She had zero clue what kind of thought process Alya was going through, but Marinette wanted _no part_ in it.

So instead of following Alya into that death trap, Marinette, along with many other students, were sent home.

Marinette would’ve been _completely_ fine with this, but for obvious reasons, she wasn’t.

Not just because of this rock person thing that she soon realized was Ivan himself, but because of the… thing that was currently in her room, _floating._

And to make things even worse, the thing talked.

“Wait a second, something smells fishy in here… wait no, that might just be me.”

Marinette froze, trying to keep her calm. “What are you?!” She practically screeched, abandoning that notion. “A bug, no wait, a mouse?! A bug mouse?!”

“No silly, hey, wait, stop throwing things at me-” It provided unhelpfully.

Why would she stop throwing things at the creature, her mind noted. The creature looked a little bit like a cat, but it had a whisker coming from its forehead and it was also about 4 times smaller than a normal cat. It also had short arms and legs and was floating. Had she mentioned it was a floating?

“Hey, you don’t need to-” The cat thing had said shortly before he was captured in a glass container. “I’m getting a little claw-strophobic, missy.” Marinette would’ve groaned, but given her current situation, no thank you. She didn’t move an inch and the cat thing sighed.

“What are you?” Marinette scowled at the creature.

“I’m a kwami, I can grant you the powers of destruction and decay and all that fun stuff, and my name is Plagg.” Plagg sighed, “You sound like you washed up on the beach’s shore and have no recollection of who you are, it’s a little annoying. Anyway, do you have any camembert?”

“You know what, Mom!” Marinette shouted.

“Wait, wait, wait, no.” Plagg panicked, “No one can know I exist besides you and the guardian. Besides, Paris needs your help.”

Marinette paused, staring at the Kwami. She eventually calmed down and evenly said: “I’m listening.”

“I give you super cool superpowers if you say the key words and give you a snazzy new costume. Basically, I can turn you into a bonafide superhero, in modern terms.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense, is it magic?” Marinette questioned, staring at the kwami in disbelief.

“Actually, yes, that’s exactly what this is.”

“I’m calling mom.” She deadpanned.

“No, don’t!”

Marinette rolled her eyes, then continued to glare at the kwami. “Alya would be a better fit for the job, wouldn’t she? She’s all about that superhero stuff, I could never. Besides, with all of the things I already have to do, I’m just not all that responsible and-”

“You’re the chosen one, kiddo.” Plagg insisted, “You need to at least consider it, for Paris’ sake. You’re the only one who can stop Stoneheart.”

Stoneheart? That was its name? As if today could get any better.

Marinette was resigned. She knew better than to say that it could get worse.

“Fine, I’ll do it. How?”

Plagg’s cheer was short-lived as another earthquake hit. “Just say ‘Claws Out,’ find the akuma, break the object said akuma’s power is stored in, then let your partner do the rest. You also have this power called ‘Cataclysm,’ which allows you to destroy anything you touch _once,_ got it?”

Marinette scowled at him, “I thought you said I was the only one who could defeat it.”

“You are, you are! But you need a partner just as much as you need yourself.”

Marinette continued to stare at it. It was a talking cat thing, apparently called a kwami? But she felt inclined to trust it. Sure, it’s a little weird, and it could be an alien who escaped some government laboratory, but it was better than sitting behind and doing nothing.

 _’All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing!’_ Alya had said.

She put on the ring that was laying on the floor, and Plagg grinned.

“Claws out.”

* * *

Marinette decided to stop asking questions when that kwami showed up.

But then she looked at herself in the mirror and…

She was wearing a black leather suit that covered her from head to toe, the only skin visible being her cheeks, and even then, it hardly mattered. Her mask was dark black, and the eyes of said mask were shaded in a light hue of blue that matched her eyes. Her pigtails were transformed into a singular braid meant to be her tail to finish off the outfit. She felt her claws lightly scratching her face, which is when she realized they were _very_ sharp. She even noticed she had a pair of black cat ears on, and somehow that made things worse.

“Plagg, get this thing off of me this instant.” But there was no response. She sighed and glanced back at the news, which was broadcasting Stoneheart’s whereabouts.

It would’ve been nice to know where Stoneheart was, but when she saw Alya at the scene, she practically leapt off her balcony the moment she did. But her mother’s voice of concern stopped her before she could even budge. “Marinette, are you okay?”

“Paw-sitively!” She placed a hand over her mouth, does Plagg rub off on her sense of humor too?

“Stay put, Mari, there’s a monster in the city somewhere!”

“I have homework, mom, don’t worry!” She said as she rushed up the stairs, not caring to hear what her mother had to respond with. She stood on the library, watching the rest of the city quietly. “Okay so what do I have here… a baton? Lucky me,” she twirled it around effortlessly. “Guess I’ll just go through the city and wait for Stoneheart to find me.”

Apparently, she had clicked a button of some sort that extended the baton, but said baton was just… extending. She clicked it again, and the extension stopped, but she was dealing with what might be a 40 ft. pole? She laid it on the roof and began walking on it carefully. “Never thought I’d be training to join the circus…” she joked to herself.

She didn’t expect a red person to land where she was, and she didn’t expect to get tied up with them, pun unintended.

“Why hello there.” The man grinned. She felt the blood rush to her head.

“Hi.” Marinette helpfully replied. She wanted to vomit, and not because of the guy.

“I promise, falling for you wasn’t part of the plan, I just got excited.” He grinned, not realizing the effect of his words. He untangled his yo-yo and helped Marinette up.

Marinette simple groaned, “You must be my ‘partner,’ what are you, a ladybug?”

The man chuckled, “Yeah, actually. I’m…” He paused, thinking of a name. “Monsieur Bug?”

Marinette sighed, that was an awful name, and she could see what he was going for but… it was just bad. “How about Red Beetle?”

He nodded, grinning brightly. “Works for me! What’s your superhero name, huh?”

Marinette paused, looking over herself once again. “My uh, name is M- “another earthquake. Must be Stoneheart. She stared at the building that was collapsing and frowned. She had no idea what she was supposed to do, stop it? She couldn’t stop a literal building! But then Red Beetle was moving, and she was still standing still and “What are you doing?!”

“Saving Paris, _mademoiselle!”_ and he yo-yo’d out of the situation.

Marinette wished she were wearing the spots just so she could do the same.

Wait, she had a baton.

She took a deep breath, repeating to herself “trust yourself… trust yourself!”

And she jumped.

They made it to the stadium, well, Red Beetle did. Marinette was just watching from afar on a perch, afraid to move.

The stadium was big, big enough to make Stoneheart look like a regular player, but compared to Red Beetle, he was ginormous. Marinette wished she had the balls he did. “It’s not very nice to pick on people who are smaller than you!” He quipped, only for Stoneheart to begin attacking him back, calling him the small one.

Marinette only sighed, she guessed all superheroes needed the talent “can quip in the most stressful of situations” and suddenly, she felt less important.

When he called for her help, she still couldn’t move, like she was rooted to the steel she stood on. “I can’t do it…”

Even when Alya was recording the entire situation and was about to get smashed by the football net, Marinette couldn’t do anything. She just… watched. Luckily, Red Beetle saved her by grabbing the net with his yo-yo and smashing it against Stoneheart, but he only grew bigger and stronger because of it.

“What are you waiting for, cat girl, the world is watching you!” Alya shouted at her.

She wasn’t invisible, not this time.

Her heart was drumming in her ears, breath picking up by a beat.

She wanted to move but she couldn’t! She just…

Couldn’t.

She ran as far as she could.

* * *

The news reported the entire event. From when Stoneheart first made itself known to Ivan’s de-akumatization.

Marinette couldn’t stand to watch it.

“Oh, come on, kitten, you can’t just sleep all day. Paris might’ve gotten off the hook this time, but you can’t let that happen again. You need to push yourself from what you know and into what needs to get done.”

“You don’t need to remind me, Plagg.” Marinette frowned, staring at the creature. “Why did you even choose me to begin with, I’m the clumsiest girl with the worst luck imaginable.”

“Funny thing is I didn’t, I was meant to get stuck with someone else.” She groaned, and Plagg quickly responded, “That doesn’t mean you aren’t chosen! You were meant to be with Tikki, that’s all!”

“Listen, Plagg, this superhero thing seems nice and all, but I’m just not cut out for it. You saw me out there, frozen in place! If I keep messing up, I’m going to end up ruining the entire city! Paris can’t rely on a girl who can’t rely on herself to save them.”

Plagg tried to respond, “It was your first time, and even then, you were just getting the hang of it!”

“I create more disaster than anything else, it’s what I do! I can only make things worse for me, for you, for everyone! Red Beetle would be better off without me, he’s more confident than I could ever be.”

He was silent, and Marinette stared at the ring in her hand.

“I’m sorry.”

Plagg disappeared without another word.

**Author's Note:**

> sad ending, or just a sad beginning?
> 
> stay tuned.


End file.
